Is a run important????

[123ChickieLou]

They normally spend their days outdoors foraging, pecking and scratching, looking for food. They will also sumbathe and dust bathe outdoors if available. They will not be happy if confined to a building 24/7.

Where I live, chickens are often kept (the "old fashioned" style) in a run with a board laying over one end for a bit of a roof. I actually think if given the choice they would prefer this to a building.

By "old-fasioned" style, do you mean that there is not a coop? Seems I've seen this before, one end of a run covered on three sides with nest boxes under the covered roof part.

 

[GardenerGal]

A run is very important, as others have said in response to your question. Chickens really do need to get out in the fresh air and sunshine (with shade provided in case they need it, of course), and to scratch around and make dirt baths, and all that chickeny stuff. Think how a person would feel if they had to be housebound all day, looking out the window but having to stay in "house arrest"!

Runs are definitely necessary, but they need to be secure. Don't use chicken wire because it's too flimsy, and pesky varmints like "English sparrows" can get in through 1" chicken wire, too, with all their nasty parasites and germs. I use galvanized metal hardware cloth, which is stiff and strong. To keep predators out, the bottom of the run has to be sunk into the ground and the wire turned outward so foxes and skunks can't dig into the run. The top has to have hardware cloth to keep raccoons from climbing in and hawks and other rapters from swooping down into the run. And the posts that make the frame of the run should be good, solid 4"x4" or something similar that can't be knocked over easily by dogs or bears. They should be set as deep in the ground as you can. Think of a fencepost you'd install for a horse paddock or cattle run.

It sounds like a lot of work for a few chickens, I guess, but it is worth it for peace of mind. My run has a gate with a sliding bolt latch that locks in place so raccoons can't fiddle it open. They climb on top of the barn and run nearly every night, and foxes sometimes do that too. But they can't get in the run!

I just bought my 4 chicks today and had planned on them living in their coop 24/7. We were planning on building a medium sized coop for them. After finding this site though and doing more research I'm thinking that I might have been wrong. Is it important for them to have access to a run. I live in the county and don't want them to be "free range" where the eagles and other predators are around. Could someone please help me?

 

[Kaitie09]

Ok may be an odd question... But I'm trying to account for chicken math here... Can the run be too big? As long as they're secure it's okay, right? I've got 6 babies but I was planning on making the run the length of my garden (idk 25 ft or so). I figure once I sell DH on the necessity of more chickens he won't be able to say we've got more work to do first to get more. I'm so jealous of you guys with plenty of space for lots more chickens!

You can never have too big of a run! Go as big as possible and that way chicken math won't catch up with you.

 

[7L Farm]

I'm building a new three sided coop with a big run. The run is about to kill me I'm wore out but the birds will love it.

 

[Mingming]

That's beautiful!

I'm building a new three sided coop with a big run. The run is about to kill me I'm wore out but the birds will love it.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

I'm building a new three sided coop with a big run. The run is about to kill me I'm wore out but the birds will love it.

ENVY

 

[Altonafamily]

I know it has been a few months since I have been on, I just wanted to let you all know that I do have a large run for my ladies! 19ft x 12ft, and our girls are loving it. We do let them our for foraging a couple hours each day in the evening and they all seem to be thriving! Just got my first eggs this week

 

[Time-Out]

You'll find the yolks are so much darker when they free-range

I have chickens in both situations. I have two at home who free-range all the time in my small garden and another 12 at an allotment, in some stables. You can really tell the difference in the stable eggs and the free-range ones. The stables chickens will be getting runs, but the chap we were buying the fencing from doesn't want to sell it to us anymore, so we're a bit stuck

When you think that a chicken can live for up to 16 years... even a dog gets walks!

 

[Antares]

As others have said, if you're not going to free-range them then a run is very important to the health of your birds. In my experience, a run cannot be too big except in terms of expense.